UCLA Bruins center Lauren Betts (51) blocks Minnesota Golden Gophers guard Amaya Battle (3) in the first half of the women’s Sweet 16 NCAA Tournament at Golden 1 Arena in Sacramento on Fri Mar 27, 2026 (AP News photo)
By Michael Roberson
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Both the University of California – Los Angeles (34-1) and the Duke Blue Devils (27-8) won their respective Sweet 16 games in the Western Regional #2 in Northern California.
UCLA took care of their half of the doubleheader by dominating their Big Ten foe, the Minnesota Golden Gophers by 24 points, 80-56 at Golden 1 Center. The #1 Bruins led from wire to wire and ended the game with their largest lead of the contest.
They shot 53% from the floor , while holding the rodents from the Land of 10,000 Lakes to a lowly 38%. Despite being outscored by Minnesota in the second quarter, UCLA was never in danger of losing the lead of game.
The Bruins presented four players with double-digits scoring. Senior guard Kiki Rice led her squad with 21 points. Senior center Loren Betts gave the Bruins 16 points and five rebounds, while senior guard Angela Dugalic had a double-double (13 points and 10 rebounds) and senior guard Gabriela Jaquez contributed 10 points and five rebounds.
The golden Gophers had two players reach the 10+ plateau. Grace Grocholski scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophie Hart tallied 11 points.
The Bruins will take on the Duke Blue Devils in Elite action Sunday, March 29 at Noon PT & # PM ET.
Th Duke Blue Devils garnered a buzzer-beating three pointer, ended the LSU Tigers tournament hopes. The two combatants had a very competitive battle that came down to the last seconds of the game.
LSU started the game with two made free throws. That was their only lead in the first half. Duke followed those two FTs with a 9-0 run. They led by five after one and by seven at recess.
LSU made a serious push in the second half, and actually took the lead for the first time, since the beginning of the game. The third quarter had five ties and seven lead changes. However, Duke did survive the onslaught at the 3/4 mark of the NCAA battle, and led by two, 67-65.
The Final stanza added two more ties and one lead change. Both teams had large runs in the fourth quarter. Duke ran off a 11-0 run, but LSU pulled off a 10-0 one themselves. Then the dramatic final seconds came into play.
Duke seemingly had the game in control with approximately 20 seconds left on the clock, with a 1-point lead, and two free throws to be shot. Duke senior guard Ashlon Jackson unexpectedly missed both free throws, and gave LSU another chance to win.
LSU junior guard Mikayla Williams drew a foul on the other end with a little more than 9 seconds left in regulation. She promptly converted both gifts from the Charity Stripe, and put her Tigers up by one, 85-84.
Jackson had less than 10 seconds to redeem herself, or someone bail her out of “goat-dom.” Jackson not only made up for her errors, but pulled off a historic NCAA miracle. She pulled and hit a dagger three pointer at the buzzer to advance to the next round. The crowd was ecstatic with the finish, at least most of them. Duke was the victor, 87-85 over LSU.
Jackson finished with 19 points and 5 assists, while two teammates, Toby Fournier (9 rebounds) and Taina Mair (5 rebounds) scored 22 points.
LSU was led by junior guard MiLaysia Fulwiley’s 28 points, while fellow junior guard Mikaylah Williams scored 22 points and senior guard and rapper, Flau’jae Johnson chipped in 13 points for the Tigers.
UCLA and Duke are set to fight for a Final Four bid in Phoenix.
Sports Radio Service 